A group of York students has won the opportunity to have their very own I-phone application developed after winning The App Challenge final, held at the Ron Cooke Hub on Wednesday, January 18.
YUSU Welfare officer Bob Hughes has warned students to be vigilant after a student loans phishing scam has been revealed.
Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting York on Maundy Thursday, 5th April, as part of the 800th anniversary of York’s Charter for the traditional “Royal Maundy” ceremony.
A flood caused by a heating system “failure” forced the university IT services to shut down many essential systems on Sunday night, causing problems for many students on the eve of their exams and assignment due-dates.
Running for the position of Chair this year are Nacho Hernando Serrano and Chris Smith. Serrano and Smith are both second year students who have been on the JCRC for the past year, putting them on par in terms of experience with the committee.
The Yorker caught up with the two candidates to bring you an in-depth interview regarding their policies and plans as possible future Goodricke Chair.
The Yorker: What are your plans as chair?
Serrano: I want to be Goodricke Chair for one reason only – to make sure that students’ experience in Goodricke will be unforgettable.
In order to achieve this I want to provide them with jaw-breaking entertainment and outstanding welfare.
In terms of entertainment, I do not only want to provide the expected minimum such as nights out as a college or against other colleges, weekly JCR events such as bar quizzes and bingo nights and GoodFest 2011, I also want to be inventive and organise workshops with societies at Goodricke; I want to continue to support student bands with student music gigs; get the 2nd and 3rd years more involved by organising STYCs vs freshers nights out; and with sufficient preparation: Goodricke does Alicante in the summer term. Sport is also part of entertainment and in this aspect I want to obtain better sponsorship for all Goodricke teams so that you don’t spend so much money on the kits.
In terms of welfare, I want to make sure that your spirit and your pocket aren’t undermined. That is why I want to make sure that there are always alternative events such as film nights, meals in town, or paintball trips. I also want to provide the necessary support through Nightline and a competent welfare team, as well as campaigning for the porters to be back at the nucleus during the night. In addition I want to publish a Goodricke Fresher’s Guide that will give, not only future Freshers, but also current students insight and a helpful reference about many aspects of university life.
In terms of money I will passionately campaign for a cash point in Goodricke; we will surely not get one tomorrow or the day after but if we don’t campaign for it, it could possibly never come. Also, since our pockets suffer during our time at uni I want to develop a Personal Budget App, which will help us to have a broader picture of our day-to-day expenses.
Having said all of this, a Goodricke JCRC with me as Chair would not be a one-man-show; I would encourage and support the other officers/reps in any way I can, so as a team, we can pursue all of our policies.
Smith: It is my mission to make everyone in our college proud to call themselves a 'Goodricker'. I believe with loyalty within the college, not only can we be the best the best college on campus but also have a much friendlier atmosphere within the community.
My main policy is to make everyones voices heard, by opening up the first 10 minutes of meetings to everyone, we can use your ideas to not put on events that we think you'll like, but events that we know you'll like. Also I want to have weekly events, instead of things trailing off after Freshers week, I want to keep things going, stop you staying in pillaging iPlayer and have you out having the time of your lives. Furthermore Saturday night events are a big issue, on a night where you cant venture into town due to astronomical prices and rowdy locals, why not come to the nucleus and have a great night at a bar quiz instead of twiddling your thumbs.
The Yorker: Why do you think you're suitable for the position?
Serrano: I think I’m suitable for this position because I consider myself to be a good coordinator. I am someone who will give 110% every day to deliver on my policies and my duties, but I have an equal determination to listen to others and be able to build a team that will deliver concrete outputs to the Goodricke students.
It is usually the case that most resources and time within a JCRC are spent on Freshers due to fact that it’s their first year, the adaption and integration year; that is why the fact that I’m living on campus is a fundamental advantage to me because it will enable me to identify, understand and resolve any issues in Goodricke much more quickly and efficiently.
Smith: As sports rep this year, I have sat on the JCRC, and have organised several successful events, including sports days, swimming galas and lacrosse tournaments. Also as rugby captain for the college, I believe I have built up very credible leadership, organisation and teamwork skills that I will bring to Chair.
The Yorker: What's your mantra?
Serrano: My guiding principles will be hard work, self-critique and making sure that the JCRC is a team that truly represents the Goodricke students.
Smith: I love Goodricke and as chair I will make it my personal objective to make sure that everyone of you says the same. So vote for Chris and put the Pride back into Goodricke.
Apart from Chair, another more contested position on this year’s Goodricke JCRC is Bar Rep.
Running against Li Zhang and Liam O'Shaughnessy are James Carney and Hayden Watson.
According to Carney, they decided to run during Fresher’s week, when they really “enjoyed being STYCs”. Carney and Watson plan on running a “green campaign”, which means that they have chosen “not to poster around the college”.
Carney and Watson plan on holding events ranging from an “epic Saturday night of quizzing, challenges and liquid prizes, to cocktail parties and open mic nights”, and also to organise a “paint the town pink” bar crawl in aid of breast cancer (victims)”.
Zhang and O’Shaughnessy were not available for comment at press time.
In another contested position, Frances Ryan is running against Risga Carson for Environment and Ethics Officer.
A second-year Environmental Science student, Ryan decided to run for this position because “there was hardly a mention of the environment within Goodricke” last year and she wants to “Green-up Goodricke”.
Ryan would like to increase the Goodricke presence in “campaigns and awareness events”, as well as introduce a “funky Goodricke shopping bag”, and holding “food mash ups”, which involves cooking food that would normally become “leftovers”.
As part of her policies, Ryan would also like to hold “Goodricke Does Green socials”, which involves “green drinks, green cakes and dressing up in recycled materials”.
Most of the other positions this year are uncontested. For a full list of Goodricke JCRC candidates, see below:
Chair: Chris Smith Nacho Hernando Serrano
Vice-chair (Services): Hannah Colbourne
Vice-chair (A&P): Peter Sharpe
Secretary: Joshua Henning
Treasurer: Angela Musoke James Killer
Bar: Hayden Watson &James Carney Li Zhang & Liam O'Shaughnessy
Social: Harry Clementson & Calum McIntyre
Ents: Phoebe Collier, Joanna Carrington & Anastasia Evans
Sponsorship: Abigail Rushton & Emily Hogan
Merchandise: Frencesca Peach & Danielle Smith
LGBT Rep Kelsey Lam Liam O'Shaughnessy & Henna Ishaq
Campaigns: Alan Robert Persaud
Environment & Ethics: Risga Carson Frances Ryan
Technical Officers: Liam McDaid & Russell Joyce
Ordinary Member: Greg Hinds Anthony Howard Alex Gordon
Click here to vote for your favourite candidate.
Results will be announced at Yate’s on Tuesday Week 8, 8pm!
To say that there has been no mention of the environment within goodricke this past year is nonsense. If Ryan were to read gill's newsletters each week, or the jcrc minutes avaible online, she would be able to see that Risga Carson has launched numerous inniatives aimed at improving and preserving the environment. She has pushed for the bike pool scheme on Hes East, created the plastic bag recycling point, the magazine library, and looked at the possibility of student accessible allotments closer to hes east for goodricke students. Ryan also appears to overlook the ethics part of the position, to her cost.
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